Aryaloka News

A Mass for Peace Choral Performance

Our own Betsy Cadbury invites you to:

The Choir of the Community Church presents "The Armed Man (A Mass for Peace)" by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins. This compelling call for peace premiered in 2000 with the optimistic hope of farewelling the war-torn 20th century. Jenkins takes as his point of departure the 15th century French folksong l'homme arme (The Armed Man), used in masses by many Renaissance composers, mixing it with traditional Catholic mass sections, a Muslim call to prayer, a text from the Mahabharata and musical settings of poetry by Kipling, Dryden, Malory, and Japanese poet Sankichi (reflecting on Hiroshima). Our offering--directed by Durham's own David Ervin--is musical prayer for a world shaped by compassion and hope, turning from violence toward a future worthy of our many children!

March 9th or 10th at 7pm. Community Church of Durham, Durham NH

Our Kitchen is Painted in Preparation for our New Fridge

The Aryaloka Parks and Rec Team came indoors last week to give the kitchen a fresh coat of paint! This is in preparation to receive the new fridge that we fundraised for at end-of-year. We should be receiving the new fridge within the next month or so. The new lighting for the yoga room is in process and we'll have some pics of that soon.

Thanks to our volunteers on the Kitchen Team who cleared the kitchen out and put it all back together! And thanks to Parks and Rec for painting!

A New Buddha Rupa at Aryaloka

We have a new Buddha rupa at Aryaloka! Thanks to Eddie Langlois for this generous gift! She is a multi-armed form of Kuan Yin, carved from wood. Traces of the original paint are still visible. She is very delicate (please do not touch). You’ll really notice her presence next time you enter the yoga room. 

How wonderful that she returns to a context of intensive Buddhist practice! We’ll be planning a big event in the near future to properly welcome her.

Volunteer Opportunities at Aryaloka: Help Others and Make Friends

It takes a community to run a place as big as Aryaloka! Aryaloka has always been a grassroots situation, funded and facilitated locally by the sangha (spiritual community). In the spirit of sangha, we practice generosity in relation to each other and the world around us. Generosity can be practiced in many ways, including the helping of our friends. Volunteering at Aryaloka can be a great way to build community and friendship with others. Volunteers learn that their participation really has an impact on the overall life of the community, and a visible difference to the quality of our beloved facility.

Memorial for Dh Vihanasari, Dec 16th at 3pm

Dear friends,

This is an invitation to come together as friends of Vihanasari who passed away on August 18th.  We will share our stories, our memories and rejoice in her many qualities. 

Please join us at Aryaloka on Saturday, December 16th at 3 pm. 

Vihanasari requested her family donate a bench that could be located in a peaceful place at Aryaloka.  In November they placed a beautiful teak bench at the stupa and scattered her ashes in the Memorial Garden along with ashes of Nikki, her dog and faithful companion. 

We plan to meet inside at 3 pm. If you would like to spend a few peaceful moments of remembrance at the stupa or Memorial Garden you can arrive a bit early or stay on after we conclude. 

If you will be attending in person please let me know by sending an email to me. 
(dayalocana@comcast.net)

Aryaloka Gift Certificates — Give the Gift of Personal Transformation!

What do you give someone who is looking for deeper meaning in their life? What do you give someone who is interested in learning how to meditate, or to practice mindfulness more fully? What do you give someone who intentionally has few possessions and would rather not acquire more? 

Give them a means of personal transformation! Give them opportunity for meditation practice, yoga, Dharma study, or the arts! Aryaloka has a full program of events that would make ideal gifts for practicing Buddhists, yogins or for those that are curious about Buddhism, meditation and yoga.

Standard gift certificate amounts are listed below, though any amount is possible!

Half-day workshop $60
Full-day workshop or retreat $95
Weekend retreat $320
Long-weekend retreat $360

If you’d like to give a specific event, you may look at our full program here.

Celebration of Life for Francesca Latawiec Oct. 29, 1pm

There will be a Celebration of Life for Francesca Latawiec at Aryaloka Buddhist Center at 1:00 on Sunday, October 29, 2023.  Francesca lived in Exeter, NH and died unexpectedly at home on Oct. 1, 2022.  She was a devoted member of the Aryaloka sangha and became a mitra in 2020.     

Throughout her life Francesca was an avid environmentalist.  She graduated from Salem State College with a Bachelor of Science in Geography.  She earned a Master’s degree in Geology from the University of Illinois in Macomb and obtained a second Master’s degree in Soil Science at the University of New Hampshire.  Her decades-long career in the environmental sciences involved both state and local government postings and her passing is deeply felt by her friends and the environmental community.  

 

Ordinations of Shantibhakta and Silasiddhi

We're so pleased to announce that two men were privately ordained at Aryaloka on Wednesday 27th October and publicly ordained on Sunday 1st October. The ordinations took place within the context of a ten-day Going for Refuge retreat that was preceded by a six-day pre-ordination retreat with the ordinands and Private Preceptors. Our new installment that houses the Dakini rupa was used as the ordination khuti. The khuti is a secret place so we can't show any photos of how it was prepared, but we can tell you that it was a transformed and magical space. We had the blessings of the full moon and the local barred owls on the evening of the Private Ordination. Over sixty people attended the Public Ordination in-person, and 30 more attended on Zoom.

Mark Ludak becomes Sīlasiddhi
'He who is accomplished in virtuous conduct'

Private preceptor: Dharmachari Paramānanda
Public preceptor: Dharmachari Viradhamma